Mária Dunszt
Born	(1936-10-10)10 October 1936 Budapest, Hungary
Died	24 August 1994 (aged 57) Budapest, Hungary
Citizenship	Hungarian
Occupation	Operatic soprano
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Mária Dunszt (18 October 1936 – 24 August 1994) was a Hungarian opera singer.

Dunszt was born on 10 October 1936, in Budapest, Hungary. Her mother, Mária Pálffy, was an opera and oratorio singer, while her father played in the telephone factory orchestra, even after his retirement. Dunszt began studying piano at the age of five.^[1]

Dunszt studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest from 1955 to 1961 under the tutelage of Imre Molnár [hu] and Oszkár Maleczky. At the academy, she won first prize at the 1960 Erkel Singing Competition, and the grand prize at the Toulouse Singing Competition.

In 1961, she was engaged by the Hungarian State Opera House, where she would go on to perform numerous leading roles.^[2]

Throughout her career, Dunszt became a celebrated dramatic soprano, performing a broad repertoire that included leading roles in operas by Verdi, Wagner, Rossini, and Gounod.

Among her notable roles were Violetta in La traviata, Desdemona in Otello, the title role in Aida, Leonora in Il trovatore, Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, and Matilda in Rossini's William Tell. She also gained recognition for portraying Wagnerian heroines such as Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, Elsa in Lohengrin, Sieglinde in Die Walküre, and Gutrune in Götterdämmerung.^[3] In 1962 she portrayed Melinda in Erkel's Bánk bán.^[4]

Dunszt also recorded two albums: Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana (1964) and the Wife in C'est la guerre [hu] by Emil Petrovics [de; hu]. She was also known for her performances as a soloist in oratorios.^[5]

Dunszt's career ended after a severe car accident in 1976, which left her unable to perform in public. She died on 24 August 1994 at the age of 57.^[6]

Dunszt is remembered as one of Hungary's most exceptional operatic talents of the 20th century.^[7][8]